Megacorporation, mega-corporation, or megacorp, a term originally coined by Alfred Eichner in his book The Megacorp and Oligopoly: Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics[1] but popularized by William Gibson,[2][3] derives from the combination of the prefix mega- with the word corporation. It has become widespread in cyberpunk literature. It is synonymous with syndicate, globalist- or transnational capital. It refers to a corporation (normally fictional) that is a massive conglomerate (usually private), holding monopolistic or near-monopolistic control over multiple markets (thus exhibiting both a horizontal and a vertical monopoly). Megacorps are so powerful that they are above the government laws, possess their own heavily armed (often military-sized) private armies, are operators of privatized police forces, hold "sovereign" territory, and even act as outright governments. They often exercise a large degree of control over their employees, taking the idea of "corporate culture" to an extreme.
Megacorporations often conflate with themes of Dystopia.
In the Alien film franchise characters are repeatedly manipulated and endangered by the unscrupulous megacorporation Weyland-Yutani, which seeks to profit from the Aliens.
Buy N' Large Logo
In the animated Pixar film WALL-E, the megacorporation Buy n' Large has completely supplanted every planetary government.
In the Avatar series of films, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) is a megacorporation that outmatches most governments in wealth, influence, and military power. The RDA has monopolized ownership of all extra-terrestrial colonies and assets, granted in perpetuity by an international committee.
Examples of megacorps in games
In the sci-fi strategy game Stellaris, players can choose to control a megacorporation that has consumed all aspects of their alien government, with variable policies such as indentured servitude, media conglomerates, or even employee resurrection.
In the video game The Outer Worlds, many megacorps purchase the rights to solar systems from Earth governments. Corporate colonies, being lightyears away from government influence, are effectively governed by their parent companies, with employment acting as citizenship.
In the Ratchet & Clank franchise, each of the featured galaxies is dominated by an arms manufacturer with a near-total monopoly on commercial activity, the largest of which is simply called "Megacorp".
Real-life examples
Coat of Arms of the East India Company
Although the term itself arose out of science fiction,[citation needed] certain real-life corporations, such as colonial-era chartered companies and zaibatsu, have achieved or approached megacorporation status in various ways. The private Dutch East India Company, for example, operated 40 warships and had 10,000 private soldiers to monitor its farflung spice empire, while the British East India Company controlled a large colonial empire and maintained a 300,000 strong standing army in the mid-19th century before the company was dissolved and its territories absorbed into the British Empire. The Hudson's Bay Company was once the world's largest landowner, exercising legal control and a trading monopoly on its territory known as Rupert's Land which consisted of 15% of the North American land mass.
Today many countries have competition laws (also known as antitrust laws) to prevent real-life corporations from having mega-corporation characteristics. On the other hand, some countries protect a certain industry deemed important by mandating that only a single company, usually state-owned, can operate in it. An example of the latter is Saudi Arabia, which gains the majority of its government revenues through its mega-corporation Saudi Aramco.
^Eichner, Alfred S., ed. (1976), "The nature of the megacorp", The Megacorp and Oligopoly: Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–54, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511895647.003, ISBN978-0-521-06861-1, retrieved 2023-01-02
^Tatsumi, Takayuki (2006). Full metal apache : transactions between cyberpunk Japan and avant-pop America. Internet Archive. Durham, NC : Duke University Press. ISBN978-0-8223-3762-1.
^. 2008-01-08. Archived from the original on 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
^"Library Data (A-M) - Traveller". Traveller RPG Wiki. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
megacorporation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Megacorporation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Megacorporation mega corporation or megacorp a term originally coined by Alfred Eichner in his book The Megacorp and Oligopoly Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics 1 but popularized by William Gibson 2 3 derives from the combination of the prefix mega with the word corporation It has become widespread in cyberpunk literature It is synonymous with syndicate globalist or transnational capital It refers to a corporation normally fictional that is a massive conglomerate usually private holding monopolistic or near monopolistic control over multiple markets thus exhibiting both a horizontal and a vertical monopoly Megacorps are so powerful that they are above the government laws possess their own heavily armed often military sized private armies are operators of privatized police forces hold sovereign territory and even act as outright governments They often exercise a large degree of control over their employees taking the idea of corporate culture to an extreme Megacorporations often conflate with themes of Dystopia Contents 1 Examples of megacorps in literature 2 Examples of megacorps in film 3 Examples of megacorps in games 4 Real life examples 5 See also 6 ReferencesExamples of megacorps in literature EditSuch organizations as a staple of science fiction long predate cyberpunk appearing in the works of writers such as Philip K Dick Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 1968 Thea von Harbou Metropolis 1927 Robert A Heinlein Citizen of the Galaxy 1957 Robert Asprin The Cold Cash War 1977 and Andre Norton the Solar Queen novels The explicit use of the term in the Traveller science fiction roleplaying game from 1977 predates Gibson s use of it 4 Examples of megacorps in film EditIn the Alien film franchise characters are repeatedly manipulated and endangered by the unscrupulous megacorporation Weyland Yutani which seeks to profit from the Aliens Buy N Large Logo In the animated Pixar film WALL E the megacorporation Buy n Large has completely supplanted every planetary government In the Avatar series of films the Resources Development Administration RDA is a megacorporation that outmatches most governments in wealth influence and military power The RDA has monopolized ownership of all extra terrestrial colonies and assets granted in perpetuity by an international committee Examples of megacorps in games EditIn the sci fi strategy game Stellaris players can choose to control a megacorporation that has consumed all aspects of their alien government with variable policies such as indentured servitude media conglomerates or even employee resurrection In the video game The Outer Worlds many megacorps purchase the rights to solar systems from Earth governments Corporate colonies being lightyears away from government influence are effectively governed by their parent companies with employment acting as citizenship In the Doom video game franchise the Union Aerospace Corporation UAC a multi planetary conglomerate is often referred to as a megacorporation 5 In the Ratchet amp Clank franchise each of the featured galaxies is dominated by an arms manufacturer with a near total monopoly on commercial activity the largest of which is simply called Megacorp Real life examples Edit Coat of Arms of the East India Company Although the term itself arose out of science fiction citation needed certain real life corporations such as colonial era chartered companies and zaibatsu have achieved or approached megacorporation status in various ways The private Dutch East India Company for example operated 40 warships and had 10 000 private soldiers to monitor its farflung spice empire while the British East India Company controlled a large colonial empire and maintained a 300 000 strong standing army in the mid 19th century before the company was dissolved and its territories absorbed into the British Empire The Hudson s Bay Company was once the world s largest landowner exercising legal control and a trading monopoly on its territory known as Rupert s Land which consisted of 15 of the North American land mass Today many countries have competition laws also known as antitrust laws to prevent real life corporations from having mega corporation characteristics On the other hand some countries protect a certain industry deemed important by mandating that only a single company usually state owned can operate in it An example of the latter is Saudi Arabia which gains the majority of its government revenues through its mega corporation Saudi Aramco See also EditCompany town Corporate warfare Corporatocracy Chaebol Evil corporation Keiretsu List of largest corporations Oligarchy PlutocracyReferences Edit Eichner Alfred S ed 1976 The nature of the megacorp The Megacorp and Oligopoly Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 19 54 doi 10 1017 CBO9780511895647 003 ISBN 978 0 521 06861 1 retrieved 2023 01 02 Tatsumi Takayuki 2006 Full metal apache transactions between cyberpunk Japan and avant pop America Internet Archive Durham NC Duke University Press ISBN 978 0 8223 3762 1 Salon Books An engine of anarchy 2008 01 08 Archived from the original on 2008 01 08 Retrieved 2023 01 05 Library Data A M Traveller Traveller RPG Wiki Retrieved 12 June 2017 UAC DoomWiki org Retrieved 2023 04 01 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Megacorporation amp oldid 1150569302, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
